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Glossary of Buddhist Terms

Abhidham m a/Abhidharm a (Pali/Sanskrit)

The third section of the Buddhist canon devoted to human psychology and
philosophy

Anapanasati (Pali)
Mindfulness of breathing

Meditation Anatta (Pali)

Resources Not self, insubstantiality, one of the three characteristics of existence
Audio
Links Anicca (Pali)
Glossary of Buddhist Terms Impermanent, one of the three characteristics of existence. Buddhist teachings
emphasize that all conditioned mental and physical phenomena are
Suggested Reading List
impermanent - nothing lasts, nothing stays the same.

Arahant (Pali)
Enlightened one; someone whose mind is completely free from the defilements;
a person who is no longer bound to cyclic existence

Be ginne r’s Mind

A mind that is open to the experience of the moment, free of conceptual
overlays; first made popular by the Zen teacher Suzuki Roshi

Bhik k hu (Pali)
A Buddhist monk

Bhik k huni (Pali)

A Buddhist nun

Bodhi (Pali/Sanskrit)
Enlightenment, awakening

Bodhicitta (Sanskrit)
Wisdom-heart or the awakened heart/mind; the aspiration for supreme
enlightenment so that all sentient beings may be free from suffering

Bodhisatta/Bodhisattva (Pali/Sanskrit)
One who has taken a vow to become a fully enlightened Buddha; someone
known for an unbounded readiness and availability to help all sentient beings

Bodhi Tre e
The tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, India - a
fig tree popularly called Pipal (Ficus Religiosa)

Brahm a-Vihara (Pali, Sanskrit)

Heavenly or sublime abode, the four mind states said to lead to a rebirth in a
heavenly realm: lovingkindness (metta), compassion (karuna), appreciative joy
(mudita) and equanimity (upekkha)

Buddha (Pali, Sanskrit)

Fully awakened one (Sanskrit); specifically the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni,
who lived and taught in India 2,500 years ago; one of the three jewels of refuge

Buddha-Dharm a/Dham m a (Sanskrit/Pali)

The teachings of the Buddha

Dana (Pali/Sanskrit)
The practice of giving; generosity. Dana is the first of the ten paramis, or
qualities to be perfected in order to become a Buddha.

Dham m apada (Pali)

The best known of all the Buddhist scriptures; a collection of 423 verses, spoken
by the Buddha, that focuses on the value of ethical conduct and mental training

De pe nde nt O rigination
The doctrine that all mental and physical phenomena arise and pass away
depending on causes and conditions

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Dharm a/Dham m a (Sanskrit/Pali)

The Buddha’s teachings, truth, the basic building blocks of reality; one of the
three jewels of refuge

Duk k ha (Pali)
Suffering; of pain, both mental and physical, of change, and endemic to cyclic
existance; the first Noble Truth that acknowledges the reality of suffering

Ego
The pattern of conditioned habits that we mistake for a sense of self

Enlighte nm e nt
Awakening

Fe e ling Tone
Vedana (Pali); the pleasant, unpleasant or neutral tone that arises with every
experience; one of the five aggregates

Inve stigation
Vicaya (Pali); Interest and inquiry into experience. One of the seven factors of
enlightenment

Jhana (Pali)
Mental absorption, a state of strong concentration that temporarily suspends the
five hindrances

Joy
Piti (Pali); A gladdening of the mind and body. One of the seven factors of
enlightenment

Kalyana Mitta (Pali)

Spiritual friend. In the Theravada Buddhist meditation tradition, teachers are
often referred to as spiritual friends.

Karm a/Kam m a (Sanskrit/Pali)

Action, deed; the law of cause and effect; intentional action, either wholesome
or unwholesome that brings either pleasant or unpleasant results respectively

Kile sa (Pali)
Defilement; unwholesome qualities; a factor of mind that obscures clear seeing;
a hindrance to meditation; also know as afflictive emotion

Karuna (Pali)
Compassion; one of the four Brahma-Vihara (sublime abodes)

Me ntal Noting
A technique used in meditation to help direct the mind to the object of
meditation

Me rit
The auspicious power of wholesome action that brings positive karmic results

Me tta (Pali)
Loving kindness, gentle friendship; a practice for generating lovingkindness said
to be first taught by the Buddha as an antidote to fear. It helps cultivate our
natural capacity for an open and loving heart and is traditionally offered along
with other Brahma-Vihara meditations that enrich compassion, joy in the
happiness of others and equanimity. These practices lead to the development of
concentration, fearlessness, happiness and a greater ability to love.

Middle W ay
A spiritual path that avoids extremes of self-mortification and self-indulgence, as
discovered and taught by the Buddha

Mindfulne ss
Sati (Pali). Careful attention to mental and physical processes; a key ingredient
of meditation; one of the five spiritual faculties; one of the seven factors of
enlightenment; an aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path

Mudita (Pali)
Appreciative or empathetic joy; the cultivation of happiness when seeing
someone else's good fortune or happy circumstances; one of the four Brahma-
Vihara (sublime abodes)

Ne utral Pe rson
In the context of metta (lovingkindness) practice, someone for whom you feel
no particular liking or disliking

Nirvana/ Nibbhana (Sanskrit/Pali)

Extinction of the fires of attachment, hatred and delusion that cause suffering;
liberation from cyclic existence

Pali
The ancient language of the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism

Panna (Pali)
Wisdom; one of the five spiritual faculties

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Param i (Pali)
The qualities of character to be perfected in order to become a Buddha. The ten
parami are...

Pre ce pt
A principle that defines a certain standard of ethical conduct; the foundation of
all Buddhist meditation practice; see the five precepts

R e stle ssne ss and R e m orse

Uddhacca-kukkucca (Pali). Agitation of the mind; one of the five hindrances to
meditation

Saddha (Pali)
Faith, confidence; one of the five spiritual faculties

Sam adhi (Pali)

Concentration; a deep state of meditation; one of the five spiritual faculties; one
of the seven factors of enlightenment; an aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path

Sam sara (Pali, Sanskrit)

Wandering on; round of rebirths; the ocean of worldly suffering; the state of
being governed by the five hindrances

Sangha (Pali)
The community of practitioners of the Buddhist path, or those beings who have
attained direct realization of the nature of reality, one of the three jewels of
refuge.

Sank hara (Pali)

Mental or physical formation

Sati (Pali)
Mindfulness; one of the five spiritual faculties; of the seven factors of
enlightenment; an aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path

Satipatthana (Pali)
The four foundations of mindfulness: contemplation of body, feeling, mind and
mind-objects; the Buddha’s quintessential teachings on mindfulness

Se nse Doors
The six perceptual gates through which we experience the world. The six sense
doors are...

Sila (Pali)
Moral or ethical conduct, virtue, the foundation of Buddhist practice

Sk e ptical Doubt
Vicikiccha (Pali). The kind of doubt that undermines faith; one of the five
hindrances to meditation

Sk illful Me ans
Action based on kindness, respect, truthfulness, timeliness and wisdom

Sloth and Torpor

Thina-middha (Pali) Sleepiness; one of the five hindrances to meditation

Sutta/Sutra (Pali/Sanskrit)
Thread, heard; a discourse by the Buddha or one of his disciples

The ravada (Pali)

Path of the Elders; the form of Buddhism found throughout many parts of
Southeast Asia. Vipassana meditation is a central part of this tradition.

Thre e Je we ls
The three jewels of refuge are the Buddha, the Dharma (doctrine) and the
Sangha. Practitioners take refuge in the fact that the Buddha found a way to
freedom, taught the Dharma as the path to that freedom, and founded the
Sangha as the supportive community that follows the way.

Tranquility
Passaddhi (Pali); Physical and mental calm. One of the seven factors of
enlightenment

Upe k k ha (Pali)
Equanimity; the ability to maintain a spacious impartiality of mind in the midst of
life’s changing conditions; one of the four Brahma-Vihara (sublime abodes); one
of the seven factors of enlightenment

Ve dana (Pali)
Feeling; the pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feeling tone that arises with all
experience; one of the five aggregates

Vinaya (Pali)
Discipline; the rules and regulations governing the conduct of Buddhist monks
and nuns

Vipassana (Pali)

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To see clearly; insight meditation; the simple and direct practice of moment-
to-moment mindfulness. Through careful and sustained observation, we
experience for ourselves the ever-changing flow of the mind/body process. This
awareness leads us to accept more fully the pleasure and pain, fear and joy,
sadness and happiness that life inevitably brings. As insight deepens, we develop
greater equanimity and peace in the face of change, and wisdom and
compassion increasingly become the guiding principles of our lives.

The Buddha first taught vipassana over 2,500 years ago. The various methods of
this practice have been well preserved in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism.
IMS retreats are all rooted in this ancient and well-mapped path to awakening
and draw on the full spectrum of this tradition’s lineages.

Viriya (Pali)
The physical and mental energy needed for diligent mindfulness practice; the
strong, courageous heart of energy. One of the five spiritual faculties; one of the
seven factors of enlightenment

W rong Vie w
The tendency of the mind to cling to concepts at the expense of reality; taking
what is impermanent to be permanent, what is dissatisfying to be satisfying,
what is selfless to be self

Yogi (Pali)
One who is undertaking the spiritual path of awakening; a meditator

The Three Characteristics

The thre e characte ristics of a ll conditione d physical a nd
m e ntal phe nom e na:
1. Impermanent; anicca (Pali)
2. Unsatisfactory, suffering; dukkha (Pali)
3. Non-self; anatta (Pali)

The Three Feeling Tones

Each m om e nt of e x pe rie nce is fe lt as one of thre e fe e ling
tone s:
1. Pleasant
2. Unpleasant
3. Neutral; neither pleasant nor unpleasant

The Three Kinds of Suffering

The Buddha taught that we can unde rstand diffe re nt k inds
of suffe ring through the se thre e cate gorie s:
1. The suffering of mental and physical pain
2. The suffering of change
3. The suffering of conditionality

The Four Brahma-Vihara

The se four 'sublim e abode s' re fle ct the m ind sta te of
e nlighte nm e nt:
1. Lovingkindness; metta (Pali)
2. Compassion; karuna (Pali)
3. Appreciative joy; mudita (Pali)
4. Equanimity; upekkha (Pali)

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness

The Buddha’s quinte sse ntial te achings on m indfulne ss:
1. Contemplation of body
2. Contemplation of feeling
3. Contemplation of mind
4. Contemplation of mind-objects

The Four Noble Truths

This was the Buddha’s first and fundam e ntal te aching
about the nature of our e x pe rie nce a nd our spiritual
pote ntial:
1. The existence of suffering
2. The origin of suffering
3. The cessation of suffering
4. The path to the cessation of suffering - the Noble Eightfold Path

The Five Aggregates of Clinging

The five aspe cts of pe rsona lity in which all physical a nd
m e ntal phe nom e na e x ist:
1. Materiality; rupa (Pali)
2. Feeling; vedana (Pali)
3. Perception; sanna (Pali)
4. Mental formations; sankhara (Pali)
5. Consciousness; vinnana (Pali)

The Five Hindrances

The se are the classical hindra nce s to m e dita tion pra ctice :
1. Desire, clinging, craving; kamacchanda (Pali)

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2. Aversion, anger, hatred; vyapada (Pali)

3. Sleepiness, sloth, torpor; thina-midha (Pali)
4. Restlessness and remorse; uddhacca-kukkucca (Pali)
5. Skeptical doubt; vicikiccha (Pali)

The Five Precepts

An e thical life is founde d on the se sta ndards of conduct:
1. To refrain from killing
2. To refrain from stealing
3. To refrain from sexual misconduct
4. To refrain from false, harsh and idle speech
5. To refrain from intoxicants that cloud the mind

The Five Spiritual Faculties

The se are inhe re nt facultie s of m ind a nd he art that, whe n
fully de ve lope d, le ad to the e nd of suffe ring.
1. Faith; saddha (Pali)
2. Energy; viriya (Pali)
3. Mindfulness; sati (Pali)
4. Concentration; samadhi (Pali)
5. Wisdom; panna (Pali)

The Six Sense Doors

Eve rything we e x pe rie nce com e s through the se portals:
1. Eye (Seeing)
2. Ear (Hearing)
3. Nose (Smelling)
4. Tongue (Tasting)
5. Body (Touching)
6. Mind

The Six Wholesome and Unwholesome Roots of

Mind
The m ind is always unde r the influe nce of one of the se
state s:
Wholesome
1. Generosity; dana (Pali)
2. Lovingkindness; metta (Pali)
3. Wisdom; panna (Pali)

Unwholesome
1. Greed; lobha (Pali)
2. Hatred; dosa (Pali)
3. Delusion; moha (Pali)

The Seven Factors of Enlightenment

The m e ntal qualitie s that provide the conditions conducive
to awak e ning:
1. Mindfulness; sati (Pali)
2. Investigation; vicaya (Pali)
3. Energy; viriya (Pali)
4. Joy; piti (Pali)
5. Tranquility; passaddhi (Pali)
6. Concentration; samadhi (Pali)
7. Equanimity; upekkha (Pali)

The Noble Eightfold Path

This is the path the Buddha ta ught to those se e k ing
libe ration:
1. Right view
2. Right thought
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

The Eight Worldly Vicissitudes

According to the Buddha, we will e x pe rie nce the se
vicissitude s throughout live s, no m atte r what our inte ntions
or actions:
1. Gain and loss
2. Praise and blame
3. Pleasure and pain
4. Fame and disrepute

The Ten Parami

The se are the qualitie s of cha racte r that, whe n pe rfe cte d,
le ad to Buddhahood:
1. Generosity
2. Morality
3. Renunciation

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4. Wisdom
5. Energy
6. Patience
7. Truthfulness
8. Resoluteness
9. Lovingkindness
10. Equanimity

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